"Doc Savage Adventure 1933-09 The Lost Oasis" - читать интересную книгу автора (Doc Savage Collection)

A man of mystery, the newspapers called Doc Savage. This was because it was next to Impossible to interview Doc. To the reporters, he was one of those rarities - a man who really did not want to see himself splashed all over the front pages.

Rumors about Doc's feats were plentiful, however, and from these some of the most inventive scribes had turned out yarns which, although a bit careless of the facts in spots, made interesting reading. They ascribed to Doc the ability to do almost anything. Since the bronze man was something of a phantom, about whom few facts were obtainable, the writers let their imaginations run riot.

Few knew it, but the laugh was on the reporters. This man of mystery, this strange giant of bronze, was a personage every bit as remarkable as they depicted. The truth would have surprised nobody more than the reporters.

Doc Savage was, had the facts been published, a man of wonders, as well as probably being the supreme adventurer of all time.


RENNY, SEATED in the cab, was not thinking of these facts. He was straining his ears to understand the headlines the distant newsboys were shouting. The words were loud enough, but the newsies needed a few lessons on how to speak distinctly.

Renny at length ascertained what they were shouting.

"W-u-xtra! P-oi-per!" they bawled. "Advertisement offers one million dollars reward for information leading to location of Doc Savage!"

Renny had a sober, puritanical face which habitually bore the expression of a man who greatly disapproved of the world in general. But now a wide grin warped his features.

"A million reward!" he chuckled. "I don't wonder that the crowd came down here to get a look at the party who would offer a reward like that!"

Renny was not exactly awed at the size of the sum - he was considerably more than a millionaire himself. However, the idea of a million-dollar reward was astounding. It was somewhat unbelievable. Privately, Renny thought there must be a joker somewhere.

His ears suddenly caught a new headline, one which the newsboys were not yelling very much.

"Ghost Zeppelin sighted in Maine!" was the cry.

Thoughtfully, Renny's big knuckles tapped the steering wheel.

"A ghost airship!" he muttered. "That's almost as fantastic as this million dollar reward business! I wonder if the two can have any connection? Probably not! Anyway, somebody up in Maine must have seen a cigar-shaped cloud and let their imagination get the best of 'em!"

This explanation of the spectral Zeppelin seemed the most likely one. Indeed, several newspaper reporters standing on the end of a pier were echoing exactly the same idea.

"Forget the Zeppelin!" one scribe snapped at his companion. The second news hawk was only a fledgling at the game, a cub newly out of journalism school.

"But the airship is a good story!" he objected. "Think of it! A mysterious Zeppelin! What could its mission be?"

"Maybe it's comin' down from the north pole to get a bunch of dumb cubs and take 'em on a visit to Santa Claus!" gritted the older head.

"But that Zeppelin - "

"Shut up!" roared the other. "When we get back to the city room I'm gonna drown you in a paste pot! Zeppelins! Zeppelins! Blazes with 'em! Here's the hottest story of the year, in case you don't know it! And it seems you don't!"

"Publicity stunt!" jeered the cub. "Probably this Doc Savage offered the reward to himself, just to get his name in the paper!"

The older reporter made a gesture of tearing out his hair in rage. "Am I burned up! Am I a cinder! Your head will never make anything but a paperweight!"

The cub was not fazed. "It looks like a publicity stunt to me! The idea of anybody offering a million dollars to get hold of any man is ridiculous!"

"Did you ever interview Doc Savage?" the other asked fiercely.